Finney County, Kansas
Encyclopedia
Finney County is a county located in Southwest Kansas
, in the Central
United States
. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 36,776. Its county seat
and most populous city is Garden City
. The Garden City Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Finney County.
, the Cherokee
Indian responsible for the development of the Cherokee alphabet. The two counties were renamed Finney County in honor of then Lieutenant Governor
David Wesley Finney. The county grew to the current shape after Garfield County
was annexed to it in 1893. The northeast block, separate from the otherwise rectangular area, represents what at one time was Garfield County, which is now occupied partially by the Garfield Township.
Charles "Buffalo" Jones
, a co-founder of Garden City, was the first member of the Kansas House of Representatives
from Finney County. He was known for his efforts to preserve the buffalo
from extinction.
Between 2007 and 2008 Finney County became majority-minority.
, county until the Kansas Constitution was amended in 1986 and voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30% food sales requirement.
, there were 40,523 people, 12,948 households, and 9,749 families residing in the county. The population density
was 31 people per square mile (12/km²). There were 13,763 housing units at an average density of 11 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup
of the county was 69.05% White
, 1.25% Black or African American
, 0.96% Native American
, 2.87% Asian
, 0.08% Pacific Islander
, 22.99% from other races, and 2.80% from two or more races
. Hispanic
or Latino
of any race were 43.30% of the population. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2008, Finney County became a minority-majority county, where 50 percent of all people identified as minorities, mostly Hispanic and Asian.
There were 12,948 household
s out of which 46.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.80% were married couples
living together, 10.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.70% were non-families. 19.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.09 and the average family size was 3.55.
In the county the population was spread out with 34.30% under the age of 18, 11.00% from 18 to 24, 31.10% from 25 to 44, 16.60% from 45 to 64, and 7.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 104.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.30 males.
The median income for a household
in the county was $38,474, and the median income for a family was $42,839. Males had a median income of $29,948 versus $21,510 for females. The per capita income
for the county was $15,377. About 10.00% of families and 14.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.60% of those under age 18 and 10.70% of those age 65 or over.
. The city of Garden City
is considered governmentally independent and is excluded from the census figures for the townships. In the following table, the population center is the largest city (or cities) included in that township's population total, if it is of a significant size.
Additional information
Maps
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, in the Central
Central United States
The Central United States is sometimes conceived as between the Eastern United States and Western United States as part of a three-region model, roughly coincident with the Midwestern United States plus the western and central portions of the Southern United States; the term is also sometimes used...
United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 36,776. Its county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
and most populous city is Garden City
Garden City, Kansas
Garden City is a city in and the county seat of Finney County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 26,658. The city is home to Garden City Community College and the Lee Richardson Zoo, the largest zoological park in western Kansas.-History:In February 1878, James...
. The Garden City Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Finney County.
History
Finney County began about 1880 as Buffalo County and Sequoyah County, named after SequoyahSequoyah
Sequoyah , named in English George Gist or George Guess, was a Cherokee silversmith. In 1821 he completed his independent creation of a Cherokee syllabary, making reading and writing in Cherokee possible...
, the Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
Indian responsible for the development of the Cherokee alphabet. The two counties were renamed Finney County in honor of then Lieutenant Governor
Lieutenant governor
A lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction, but is often the deputy or lieutenant to or ranking under a governor — a "second-in-command"...
David Wesley Finney. The county grew to the current shape after Garfield County
Garfield County, Kansas
Garfield County, Kansas, was a county in western Kansas that was organized in 1887 and then merged into Finney County, Kansas in 1893. It consisted of what is now the eastern portion of Finney County north of Gray County, Kansas....
was annexed to it in 1893. The northeast block, separate from the otherwise rectangular area, represents what at one time was Garfield County, which is now occupied partially by the Garfield Township.
Charles "Buffalo" Jones
Charles "Buffalo" Jones
Charles Jesse Jones, known as Buffalo Jones , was an American frontiersman, farmer, rancher, hunter, and conservationist who cofounded Garden City, Kansas...
, a co-founder of Garden City, was the first member of the Kansas House of Representatives
Kansas House of Representatives
The Kansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kansas Legislature, the legislative body of the U.S. State of Kansas. Composed of 125 state representatives from districts with roughly equal populations of at least 19,000, its members are responsible for crafting and voting on...
from Finney County. He was known for his efforts to preserve the buffalo
Bison
Members of the genus Bison are large, even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four extinct species are recognized...
from extinction.
Between 2007 and 2008 Finney County became majority-minority.
Law and government
Finney County was a prohibition, or "dry"Dry county
A dry county is a county in the United States whose government forbids the sale of alcoholic beverages. Some prohibit off-premises sale, some prohibit on-premises sale, and some prohibit both. Hundreds of dry counties exist across the United States, almost all of them in the South...
, county until the Kansas Constitution was amended in 1986 and voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30% food sales requirement.
Geography
According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 1302.62 square miles (3,373.8 km²), of which 1301.77 square miles (3,371.6 km²) (or 99.93%) is land and 0.84 square miles (2.2 km²) (or 0.06%) is water.Adjacent counties
- Scott CountyScott County, KansasScott County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 4,936...
(north) - Lane CountyLane County, KansasLane County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 1,750. The county seat is Dighton, the only city in the county. Lane County was named after James H. Lane who was a leader of the Jayhawker abolitionist movement and served as one of...
(north) - Ness CountyNess County, KansasNess County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 3,107. The largest city and county seat is Ness City. Ness County was named for Corporal Noah V. Ness of the 7th Kansas Cavalry...
(northeast) - Hodgeman CountyHodgeman County, KansasHodgeman County is a county located in Southwest Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 1,916...
(east) - Haskell CountyHaskell County, KansasHaskell County is a county located in Southwest Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 4,256...
(south) - Gray CountyGray County, KansasGray County is a county located in Southwest Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 6,006...
(south) - Grant CountyGrant County, KansasGrant County is a county located in southwest Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 7,829...
(southwest) - Kearny CountyKearny County, KansasKearny County is a county located in Southwest Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 3,977. Its county seat and most populous city is Lakin...
(west)
Demographics
As of the U.S. Census in 2000United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
, there were 40,523 people, 12,948 households, and 9,749 families residing in the county. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 31 people per square mile (12/km²). There were 13,763 housing units at an average density of 11 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
of the county was 69.05% White
White American
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
, 1.25% Black or African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
, 0.96% Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
, 2.87% Asian
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
, 0.08% Pacific Islander
Pacific Islander American
Pacific Islander Americans, also known as Oceanian Americans, are residents of the United States with original ancestry from Oceania. They represent the smallest racial group counted in the United States census of 2000. They numbered 874,000 people or 0.3 percent of the United States population...
, 22.99% from other races, and 2.80% from two or more races
Multiracial
The terms multiracial and mixed-race describe people whose ancestries come from multiple races. Unlike the term biracial, which often is only used to refer to having parents or grandparents of two different races, the term multiracial may encompass biracial people but can also include people with...
. Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
or Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
of any race were 43.30% of the population. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2008, Finney County became a minority-majority county, where 50 percent of all people identified as minorities, mostly Hispanic and Asian.
There were 12,948 household
Household
The household is "the basic residential unit in which economic production, consumption, inheritance, child rearing, and shelter are organized and carried out"; [the household] "may or may not be synonymous with family"....
s out of which 46.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.80% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 10.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.70% were non-families. 19.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.09 and the average family size was 3.55.
In the county the population was spread out with 34.30% under the age of 18, 11.00% from 18 to 24, 31.10% from 25 to 44, 16.60% from 45 to 64, and 7.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 104.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.30 males.
The median income for a household
Median household income
The median household income is commonly used to generate data about geographic areas and divides households into two equal segments with the first half of households earning less than the median household income and the other half earning more...
in the county was $38,474, and the median income for a family was $42,839. Males had a median income of $29,948 versus $21,510 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the county was $15,377. About 10.00% of families and 14.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.60% of those under age 18 and 10.70% of those age 65 or over.
Incorporated cities
Name and population (2008 estimate):- Garden CityGarden City, KansasGarden City is a city in and the county seat of Finney County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 26,658. The city is home to Garden City Community College and the Lee Richardson Zoo, the largest zoological park in western Kansas.-History:In February 1878, James...
, 28,557 (county seat) - HolcombHolcomb, KansasHolcomb is a city in Finney County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 2,094.-History:Holcomb is known for the murders of four members of the Herbert W. Clutter family, an incident which formed the basis of the Truman Capote book In Cold Blood.-Geography:Holcomb...
, 1,991
Unincorporated places
- FriendFriend, KansasFriend is an unincorporated community in Finney County, Kansas, United States. The town is located next to U.S. Route 83 and the North Line of the Garden City Western Railway, south to the county line of Scott County. Other nearby communities include Shallow Water to the north and Tennis to the...
- KalvestaKalvesta, KansasKalvesta is an unincorporated community in Finney County, Kansas, United States. Kalvesta is located on K-156 north-northeast of Cimarron....
- Knauston
- LoweLowe, KansasLowe is an unincorporated community in Finney County, Kansas, United States. Lowe is north of Holcomb....
- MansfieldMansfield, KansasMansfield is an unincorporated community in Finney County, Kansas, United States. Mansfield is southeast of Garden City....
- PiercevillePierceville, KansasPierceville is a small unincorporated community in Finney County, Kansas, United States. Pierceville is located along U.S. Routes 50 and 400 southeast of Garden City. Pierceville had a post office with ZIP code 67868 but it was disestablished April 11, 1992. A few houses, a community building, an...
- Pitt
- PlymellPlymell, KansasPlymell is an unincorporated community in Finney County, Kansas, United States. Plymell is located on U.S. Route 83 south of Garden City....
- RitchalRitchal, KansasRitchal is an unincorporated community in Finney County, Kansas, United States. Ritchal is northwest of Holcomb....
- RodkeyRodkey, KansasRodkey is an unincorporated community in Finney County, Kansas, United States. Rodkey is northwest of Garden City....
Ghost & Abandoned Towns
- Amazon
- Eminence
- Essex
- Imperial
- Knauston
- Leeser
- Loya
- Pitt
- QuinbyQuinby, KansasQuinby is an unincorporated community in Finney County, Kansas, United States. Quinby is west-northwest of Garden City....
- RavannaRavanna, KansasRavanna is an Ghost Town in Finney County, Kansas, United States. Ravanna is east-northeast of Garden City....
- Terryton
Townships
Finney County is divided into seven townshipsCivil township
A civil township is a widely used unit of local government in the United States, subordinate to, and geographic divisions of, a county. Specific responsibilities and the degree of autonomy vary based on each state. Civil townships are distinct from survey townships, but in states that have both,...
. The city of Garden City
Garden City, Kansas
Garden City is a city in and the county seat of Finney County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 26,658. The city is home to Garden City Community College and the Lee Richardson Zoo, the largest zoological park in western Kansas.-History:In February 1878, James...
is considered governmentally independent and is excluded from the census figures for the townships. In the following table, the population center is the largest city (or cities) included in that township's population total, if it is of a significant size.
| Township | FIPS | Population center |
Population | Population density /km² (/sq mi) |
Land area km² (sq mi) | Water area km² (sq mi) | Water % | Geographic coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garden City | 25350 | 7,400 | 23 (59) | 327 (126) | 0 (0) | 0.11% | 37°57′39"N 100°51′22"W | |
| Garfield | 25600 | 331 | 0 (1) | 1,116 (431) | 1 (0) | 0.09% | 38°8′13"N 100°26′47"W | |
| Ivanhoe | 34675 | 666 | 2 (5) | 368 (142) | 0 (0) | 0 % | 37°49′10"N 100°51′26"W | |
| Pierceville | 55800 | 551 | 1 (4) | 378 (146) | 0 (0) | 0.01% | 37°53′39"N 100°42′56"W | |
| Pleasant Valley | 56550 | 139 | 0 (1) | 371 (143) | 0 (0) | 0 % | 38°10′40"N 100°48′6"W | |
| Sherlock | 64800 | 2,758 | 7 (17) | 419 (162) | 0 (0) | 0.09% | 38°0′32"N 101°0′8"W | |
| Terry | 70225 | 227 | 1 (2) | 371 (143) | 0 (0) | 0.11% | 38°9′22"N 100°59′52"W | |
| Sources: | ||||||||
Unified school districts
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Finney County, KansasNational Register of Historic Places listings in Finney County, KansasThis is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Finney County, Kansas.This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Finney County, Kansas, United States...
Further reading
- History of the State of Kansas; William G. Cutler; A.T. Andreas Publisher; 1883. (Online HTML eBook)
- Kansas : A Cyclopedia of State History, Embracing Events, Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc; 3 Volumes; Frank W. Blackmar; Standard Publishing Co; 944 / 955 / 824 pages; 1912. (Volume1 - Download 54MB PDF eBook),(Volume2 - Download 53MB PDF eBook), (Volume3 - Download 33MB PDF eBook)
External links
Official sitesAdditional information
Maps
- Finny County Map, KDOT
- Kansas Highway Map, KDOT
- Kansas Railroad Map, KDOT
- Kansas School District Boundary Map, KSDE